Sport refereeing in the university curricula of Physical Activity and Sports: a comparative study between Spain and Mexico

Abstract

University curricula of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences usually strengthen different areas of professional intervention to their students. Physical activity for health, sports training, physical performance, sports management, and physical education stand out. Meanwhile, the sports referee role is commonly perceived by society as an authority that favors or limits the performance of athletes, as well as a rigid, non-flexible entity without major contributions to society in addition to those performed within their work context. The objective of this study was to compare the training on sports refereeing considered by the main university curricula of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences in Spain and Mexico; therefore, a qualitative and quantitative analysis was carried out, according to the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation in Spain and the Mexican Council for the Accreditation of Physical Culture Education, A.C. in Mexico. The results indicate that only two of the curricula analyzed out of fifty institutions offer content related to referee training in Spain, while in Mexico there are three out of sixteen. In addition, differences were observed in the approaches to the competencies and content of the subjects. It is concluded that the vast majority of university curricula of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences do not include subjects that develop knowledge or skills in sport refereeing, which implies that a large number of students do not receive competencies on the formative and disciplinary role that this figure can play both in the sport context and in society.